An O's Fan Observes the PostSeason

Here are a few baseball-related thoughts that occurred to me while watching bits and pieces of baseball's division series:

-First it was Jerry Hairston. Then came Felix Pie. Young, unproven Orioles players who were rebuked by opposing teams for their overly enthusiastic displays on the diamond.

Granted, baseball doesn't need to become the NFL where routine regular season plays produce choreographed histrionics, but isn't there some room for emotion in the national pastime?

Give me Yorvit Torrealba clapping frenziedly at second base following his clutch two-run double against the Phillies.

Give me Jayson Werth celebrating at first base a half-inning later following an equally clutch hit that served as the proverbial final nail in the Rockies' playoff coffin.

The best part is no one has to worry about getting a pitch in the ear for showing some genuine emotion.

I'm glad the etiquette of post-season baseball allows players to be excited.


-Speaking of emotion, baseball should establish a rule that any fan who sits behind the dugout during a playoff game, wears a suit, and fails to stand up during critical eighth and ninth-inning sequences is no longer welcome at the ballpark. Ever.

There were at least a handful of fans at Coors Field on Sunday night who qualified for ballpark banishment.


-Instant replay? No way.

I'm no inflexible traditionalist.

I know replay seems like the right thing to do following Joe Mauer's fair-called-foul ball against the Yankees in extra innings of Game 2 of the ALDS.

I still don't want to see replay ruin the flow of baseball games the way it's doing in pro football.

Sure, there are some cases of clear umpire error like the Mauer hit, but for every clearly blown call there are several times more instances where slow motion look-backs only serve to confuse the issue further.

How many times have you seen NFL announcers watch a replay from several angles, fail to come to a definitive conclusion about what happened, and ultimately fall back on the old line about "indisputable video evidence"?

Rarely are close calls indisputable no matter the speed at which you watch them. The ones that are produce great outrage and calls for unnecessary measures like, well, instant replay.

Umpires make tons of judgment calls throughout a game. Only rarely does one of those calls dramatically affect the outcome. When it does, fans, players, and the media alike all have to deal with it and move on. Either that or harbor a well-earned grudge for eternity as I'm doing with Jeffrey Maier.